Don’t expect Peter Jackson to direct a superhero movie. In fact, it sounds as though he is backing away from making major motion pictures entirely, as he chooses to explore the world of documentaries. Speaking to Empire magazine, he recounted two conversations with former Warner Brothers CEO Kevin Tsujihara, in which the CEO attempted to court Jackson to helm ‘Aquaman’:
“He said, ‘Are you a fan of Aquaman?’ I said, ‘No.’ Six months later: ‘Peter, are you a fan of Aquaman?’ I said, ’No, Kevin, I already told you this’. I’m not a superhero guy. I read Tintin… Look, films are hard. I only want to make something that I have a deep passion for.”
Of course James Wan ended up taking on ‘Aquaman’ and IS a superfan of the underwater DC superhero and his fun romp wound up making over a billion dollars worldwide at the box office.
Jackson however stated:
“I don’t really anticipate making another theatrical film for a year or two.”
Last year, Jackson released the World War I documentary, ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’, and is now working on an untitled doc about The Beatles, and that seems to be where his interests lie for now. He passed on directing the film ‘Mortal Engines’, which he did produce. Unfortunately, without Jackson behind the camera, the Christian Rivers-helmed film flopped at the box office.
RELATED: Peter Jackson Isn’t Currently Working On Amazon’s ‘Lord Of The Rings’ But They’re Open To His Involvement
Jackson has plans to explore the comic book property he does like, ‘Tintin’ in the film ‘The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun’, as well as a potential third ‘Tintin’ movie. Steven Spielberg directed the 2011 live-action/animation hybrid ‘The Adventures of Tintin’, which starred Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Nick Frost, and Simon Pegg. Spielberg will remain attached as an executive producer on the new picture(s).
The first picture was not a success, partially because the property ‘Tintin’ is hugely popular around the world, particularly in Europe, but is fairly unknown in the United States. The live-action/animation hybrid style was also a tough sell– was it a cartoon? Was it for kids? But motion-capture has come a long way in just a few years. Perhaps Jackson’s take will be an easier sell to modern audiences.
Would you have liked to have seen Jackson’s interpretation of ‘Aquaman’? Or is it best for everyone that he didn’t bother taking on a project he wasn’t passionate about making?
